To Begin Again
by Gaelcelt
Summary: Latter Days. Slash, although they're gay in the first place. A while after Aaron has lived with Christian, his parents, after some reflecting and learning, arrive at Aaron's and Christian's house, wanting to apologize.


These characters are not mine. 

This picks occurs a while after the end of _Latter Days_, after Aaron has left his parents and returned to Los Angeles to be with Christian. Aaron's parents, after some reflecting and learning, attempt to reconcile with their son. Never mind that it might not be realistic. No flames please, just constructive criticism.

To Begin Again  


They remembered their first time together... Christian burned with flame as he saw Aaron's muscles gliding under his clear, white skin. Aaron, however terrified that he was of the end of the journey, could not help his eagerness to feel the touch of this strong, olive-complexioned Adonis...

Christian eagerly kissed the taut, pink nubs that adorned Aaron's bosom, savoring the feel of the smooth, milky flesh, the silken forest of golden curls against his beloved's loins...

"Oh, Christian...!" Aaron's moan rang sweetly in Christian's ears. Aaron could not begin to believe the extent of joy that he felt. He had a handsome young man that had proclaimed his love for him... his fear of returning home, his secret exposed, to his parents was dulled as he savored the silken lips and warm, caressing hands of his love...

_"Don't say that! Don't you ever even think like that!"_

The sobs just overtook him. Aaron could not believe the extent of his misery. _His mother_, the one who was supposed to love him unconditionally, was saying _this_ to him?

_"God can never forgive this..."_

The knot of pain in his throat, in his heart, was overwhelming. He had been sent home to _this_? Where they no longer loved him, where they refused to even look at him? And Christian... he would never see him again...

"Aaron...! Aaron, honey, wake up!"

Aaron's eyes were wet with tears as he gingerly opened them. Looking about, half-terrified, he sighed in relief as he saw where he was. Christian's face was stricken with worry.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Christian's soft hand gently cupped Aaron's cheek, "What was it?"

"It was the night that I tried to slash my wrists-!" he saw Christian wince at the memory, "When my mom slapped me...!"

"Shh... c'mere"

Aaron gave a soft cry as he kissed his lover's breast, grateful to have him there, his arms wrapped around him.

Christian felt his own tears pricking his eyes as he felt Aaron desperately hugging him, quiet sobs muffled against his exposed chest.

"It's all right... I'm here...," he crooned, "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Exhausted, they soon fell asleep again.

-----

The knock at the door woke them up.

"Who's coming here at 8:15 in the morning on Saturday?" Aaron groaned as he reluctantly rose from the bed.  
"This had better be worth the effort." Christian said dryly. He kissed Aaron good-morning as they quickly dressed.

"I'm coming!" Aaron called to whoever was knocking at the door.

He did a double-take as he saw who it was.

"Hello, sweetheart..." his mother said to him.

"Mom? Dad?" Aaron was stunned to see his parents standing there. Bitterness soon replaced the initial shock.

"What do you want?" he addressed them tartly, a slight glare set over his eyes.

Gladys Davis winced. She knew that this would not be easy.

"Christian!" Aaron called into the house. Christian was at Aaron's side in a flash, as surprised as Aaron was that his "in-laws" had brought themselves to visit.

Aaron's parents stood there, pale-faced, for a moment before Gladys asked the question "May we come in?"

Aaron hesitated and silently complied to her request.

"May I bring you anything, Mr. and Mrs. Davis?" Christian asked.

"Tea, if you please," Gladys answered, "Coffee," said Farron.

"Well," Aaron addressed his parents, "What business brings you here?"

"Aaron," Gladys said to her son, her head hung slightly, "I wanted to apologize..." "Both of us do, son..." Farron added.

Aaron gave them an incredulous look.

"Aaron, really...!" Gladys protested.  
"You rejected me once and you'll just do it again," Aaron said with knives in his voice, "I am what I am and I cannot change, and it's clear to me that you could not accept it."

"We got to thinking about you after we found out that you left the correction center..." Farron addressed his son.

"That hellhole...!" Aaron grumbled, looking away in disdain, "They made my days miserable there, since _you_ decided to put me there. I decided to face myself and hoped that you would accept me, but you spit in my face instead and I was sent to a place where I was practically raped and beaten by the machines there..."

Farron winced and Gladys let out a small cry, "But Aaron-! You're our son and we realize now that we should not have done this to you... we don't agree with it completely but that gave us no right to do what we did to you."

Aaron just sat there, his face like a marble statue, looking out the window, as though she had said nothing.

"Aaron," Farron spoke softly, "We still love you and we want to stay in contact with you..."

Still no answer.

"Aaron... will you at least speak...?" Gladys was becoming more distraught.

Christian came in with the coffee and tea. He decided that Aaron would need emotional support and sat beside his lover, wrapping his arm around him. He looked over at who would have been his in-laws with little expression and then back over to his lover, pulling him close. Encouraged by this showing of affection, Aaron spoke.

"Perhaps... I will stay in contact with you, but what you did to me changed our relationship."

Gladys nodded silently, her shoulders slumped.

"I wish that things could be as they were for yourselves and me, but I can never forgive you for what you said to me, what you did to me. I have a new life with Christian." Aaron felt the pain in his gut as he said these words. He loved his parents, but he would not forget what they put him through.

"I understand..." Gladys said sadly, "I just wish that we had reacted differently..."

"I wish that you had too," Aaron replied, "I miss you, but it still hurts when I think of you."

"It's been hard for both of us," added Christian, "You scared me to death when you told me that Aaron had attempted suicide," he hesitated at the memory, drawing Aaron closer to himself, "I was so relieved when he turned up at the restaurant where I work... I wish that you could have been on better terms with him, but seeing him standing there, alive and well, that was all that I could have asked for..."

"Excuse me..." Aaron quickly rose from the couch and made for the kitchen.

Christian silently excused himself and followed him.

Farron gulped and looked at Gladys who, with concern covering her face, rose from the couch and started for the kitchen as well, but Farron took her hand.

"I don't want to intrude on them..." he said dryly.

"Neither do I," Gladys replied, "But I have to see if he's all right..." Hesitantly reaching the kitchen door, she peered past it.

She was frozen to the spot. There was her son clinging to this young man as if he would die if he let go of him. Christian was rocking side to side with him, running his hands through Aaron's fair hair, his own face pained. It clearly hurt him to see Aaron in such agony.

"Sshh... It's okay, sweetheart." Christian murmured as he rocked Aaron.

Farron was suddenly watching beside her.

Aaron pulled away from Christian somewhat, his face ruddy and wet with tears.

"I can't take it, Christian...!" his voice was barely audible, "Seeing my parents, it just brings back all of the horrible memories of those days when I reached home...! It hurts too much...!"

"Shh... it's okay... I'm here, sweetie... I won't let anything happen to you" Christian took his lover back into his arms.

"Oh Christian...!" Aaron's voice was muffled against Christian's shoulder.

"I love you..." came his lover's answer.

Gladys and Farron made their way back to the couch. It felt as though somebody had punched them. Their son, somebody that they loved, was crying and enduring horrible memories because of _them_? They had sent him to the correction facility, where he endured severe therapy... for what? They were horrified that _they_ had hurt their own child so deeply.

Several moments passed as they sat in silence, listening to the muffled sound of sobbing coming from the kitchen, each of them filling them with more and more guilt. Just as they couldn't take it anymore, Aaron and Christian walked shyly back into the living room.

"We're sorry for leaving you," Aaron said in a husky voice as he and Christian stood side-by-side. Gladys and Farron tried not to look at the wet spot on Christian's shoulder.

Aaron's parents looked at each other. They had not been confronted by this before. Their son was one of a group of people that they thought were condemned by God's word, but this pair before them did not fit the image of what they thought that they would be. They wanted to support their son, but couldn't bring themselves to totally embrace this aspect of him.

Aaron turned to Christian with a distressed look. Chris kissed him on the forehead and drew Aaron close to rest his head on a strong shoulder. The Davis's looked at them with some discomfort but said nothing.

"Won't you show us around?" Farron asked, trying to break the ice a bit.

"Of course," Christian answered, "would you stay for breakfast?"

A bit hesitant at first, Farron and Gladys accepted.

They enjoyed breakfast together, followed by Aaron's parents becoming better acquainted with Christian.

"I'm not sure what to think..." Gladys said to herself as she conversed with Christian. It was still against what she'd been taught, but this was her son's life. Here she was speaking to her son and the young man who was practically her son-in-law.

"Would you like to go out to dinner sometime?" Christian offered, looking over to Aaron. Aaron nodded, and his parents accepted.

"We truly are sorry, sweetheart," Gladys said to Aaron, "It's difficult for us to accept this part of your life, but we don't want to lose you."

Aaron nodded as he looked at his mother, "I know that you don't, but it will take time for me to open back up. I do want to accept both of you back into my life, but I don't want to find myself in another conflict again over this."

His parents nodded, showing a silent understanding. "We'll try to look past this, Aaron," Farron spoke up, "It won't be any easy thing for either of us, but I hope that we can work past what's happened."

Gladys she looked at Christian apologetically, "I'm so sorry for saying those things to you, Christian. I didn't know what to think about you when-."

"You were angry," Christian reassured, "You were worried for Aaron, it's all right..."

"No, it's not all right. It doesn't excuse what I did... I was horrified at first, but when you came to our house and gave his watch to me, you showed me that you truly did care for my son."

"I still do," Christian flashed a smile at her, which she returned. "Thank you so much for taking care of him."

"Thank you for bringing him into the world." Christian said in return.

That afternoon, after they left, Christian turned to Aaron and embraced him tightly.

"You were so brave, sweetie." he whispered.

"After making a scene in the kitchen?" Aaron asked shyly.

Christian pulled from the embrace and looked reassuringly into his beloved's face. "You were upset, sweetie. It's all right. They're _your_ feelings."

Aaron hung his head, his eyes were glassy, the memories of what happened to him in Idaho occupying his mind "I just wish that I could accept them after what they did to me..."

Christian kissed him on the cheek, "We'll take it a little at a time, all right?"  
Aaron's somber face broke into a smile as he looked into Christian's eyes, "All right..." he said before kissing him full on the lips, drawing back into the embrace.

"Remember, Aaron, no matter what, that I'll be there for you," Christian murmured into Aaron's hair, "I love you."

"I love you too..." Aaron's voice was also soft as he relaxed his head on Christian's shoulder.

The road with their families would not be easy, but they would bet here to hold onto each other every step of the way.


End file.
